Casting Down Imaginations and Bringing Every Thought to the Obedience of Christ

Recently, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous. I had eaten a big meal at a restaurant the evening before and as I woke, the thought "You ate something bad" popped into my head. Immediately following this first thought was another thought: "That is only a hypnotic suggestion". I understood this second thought to mean, not that some individual was specifically trying to hypnotize me into thinking that I was sick, but that the human mind is prone to picking up and acting out, without being consciously aware of it, ideas, beliefs, and attitudes circulating in popular thought. You've probably noticed, for example, that when one person in a crowd yawns, coughs, becomes excited or afraid, others in the group do also.

To deal with my immediate situation, I got out of bed and found a comfortable place to sit and pray. Recognizing that this discomfort was not a reality, but a suggestion, I proceeded to resist and correct this suggestion by reminding myself of the truth I've learned from the Bible about the reality of God and man. The apostle Paul describes this method of countering false suggestions in his letter to the Corinthians: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

I thought about how God made me in His image and likeness (Genesis 1), how God was the supreme power - ever present and all good (Psalms 23, 91, and 139), and about how now I am the child of God (I John 3). In applying these Bible truths to bring healing, I followed the guidance of Mary Baker Eddy, a 19th century Christian healer. In her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she advises to "insist vehemently" on the great facts of existence (page 421) and to oppose sickness with conscientious protests of truth (page 12).

The suggestion that I was sick was persistent, but I refused to give it authority or credibility. My treatment did not involve willing myself to be healthy or self-hypnosis. On the contrary, I was awaking my consciousness to the truth and bringing it into accord with what God, or divine Mind (a term Eddy used to describe God), was knowing and doing. This is the true state of my consciousness.

As I held steadily to the truth, I steadily felt better until I finally felt normal. I went back to bed, slept normally, and continued to feel fine the next morning when I got up.